


it's a mean old world

by drfitzmonster



Series: supercorp song fics [5]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Lena Luthor Needs a Hug, Philanthropist Lena Luthor, Protective Kara Danvers, Sensitive Lena Luthor, Soft Girlfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 06:43:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14159058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drfitzmonster/pseuds/drfitzmonster
Summary: Kara comes home late to find Lena awake and upset. She's been up crying, reading the news, and donating money to people online. Kara comforts her, and they come up with new ways for Lena to put her money to good use.





	it's a mean old world

**Author's Note:**

> This is fic is honestly just wish fulfillment. I get sad about stuff in the news and I wish I had a bunch of money to give to away to people who need help. Also, living in a place with a properly-funded education system is a fantasy of mine.

Kara sighed as she landed on the balcony of the apartment she shared with Lena. It was the third night that week she’d gotten home on the far side of 2am, and the third night that week that their bedroom light was still on when she arrived. She knew that could only mean that Lena was still up reading the news and watching coverage of Supergirl.

That was never a good sign.

Sure enough, when she came into their bedroom Lena was propped up on the bed in her glasses, balancing her laptop on her legs. A tumbler of scotch sat on the nightstand within arm’s reach, and there were crumpled up tissues strewn about the bed.

“Lena?” Kara stopped to hang up her cape and quickly strip out of the rest of her suit. “Sweetheart?”

Lena didn’t hear her. She was hyperfocused on her laptop, her eyes puffy and rimmed red from crying.

Kara’s heart sank. Lena put up a good front for investors, and her employees, and the media, but she was really very sensitive. She had such a big heart, the news often upset her greatly. She hated to see people hurting, and she wanted to help all of them. 

She did so much to help so many people, and it didn’t matter how many times Kara told her otherwise, she never thought it was enough. She was constantly trying to atone for sins that weren’t her own, and she carried the burden of guilt for her entire family’s misdeeds on her shoulders.

Lena looked so sad sitting there, sniffling, thick-framed glasses slipping down her nose. She was so focused on what she was reading— certainly something heartbreaking if the volume of spent tissues was anything to go by— it was like Kara wasn’t even there.

As much as Kara wanted to go to Lena, she was dirty and smelled like smoke and it was quite possible she had motor oil in her hair, so she supersped through a shower and into pajamas.

She didn’t say anything when she came into the room, just crawled up the bed until she was straddling Lena’s legs, peering over the back of her laptop. “Whatcha reading, baby?”

Lena finally looked up at her, and as soon as they made eye contact she burst into tears.

“Ok, honey, let’s just put this down.” Kara gently wrested Lena’s laptop from her hands, closing it and setting it aside. She moved further up the bed until she was basically in Lena’s lap, knees astride her hips, and gently pulled her glasses from her face. She set them on the nightstand.

Her poor Lena. Sweet, gentle Lena. She just felt so much, and hurt so deeply. She kissed Lena’s forehead softly, bringing her hands to frame Lena’s face. 

“Do you want some tea? And maybe a cool washcloth?” Kara swiped her thumbs under Lena’s eyes, smoothing over the tracks of her tears.

Lena nodded.

Kara brought her chamomile and valerian in a Snoopy mug, laid a damp washcloth across the back of her neck, used another and reverently washed Lena’s face. She started at Lena’s forehead and brought the washcloth gently down along her jawline, repeating on the other side. Then she wiped softly under Lena’s eyes and over the apples of her cheeks.

When Kara was finished she gave Lena a soft, lingering kiss, and handed her the tea. Lena drank it slowly, wordlessly, the occasional tear slipping down her cheek. She handed her half empty mug to Kara.

“Thank you.”

“Of course, baby. Anything for you.” Kara set the mug on the nightstand. “Why don’t we lie down, ok?” She turned off the bedside lamp and shifted into a reclining position, coaxing Lena down with her. Lena curled into Kara, hiding her face against Kara’s chest.

She started to cry again, gently at first, but soon her body was wracked with convulsive sobs. Kara held her tightly, rubbing her back and whispering to her softly.

“It’s ok, baby. Let it all out.”

Lena sobbed for a while, and when she had cried herself out she lifted her head. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “And look, I’ve gotten your shirt all wet.” She pressed her hand to Kara’s chest where it was damp from her tears.

“I think I’ll survive. And please don’t apologize. I love you. I want to be here for you.” Kara brushed a lock of Lena’s hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Ok?”

Lena nodded.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Before Lena spoke she turned in Kara’s arms, sinking back into her. She took Kara’s hands and guided them both to rest on her stomach. She was silent for so long Kara thought she just wasn’t ready to talk. 

It stung that Lena wasn’t always comfortable sharing her feelings, but Kara knew it wasn’t really about her, it was about the fact that Lena had been hurt so many times before by people who said they loved her.

Kara would wait for Lena to be ready for as long as it took, and in the meantime she would strive every day to be the kind of person worthy of Lena’s trust.

Lena finally did speak, so softly Kara barely even heard it, “The world is such a mean, cruel place. There are so many people suffering. I just wish I could do more to help.”

“More? Lena are you kidding me? How many millions of dollars have you given to your hospital? And the youth center, and the women’s shelter, and the food pantry? I mean, have you forgotten that you completely revamped the National City public school system, and now all of their facilities are state of the art and the teacher-to-student ratio is the best in the entire country?”

“Kara you don’t understand...”

“National City Community College is tuition free because of you. That has literally never been done before in the United States. And don’t even get me started on L-Corp’s clean water initiative. Do you know how many lives you’ve saved because people have access to clean water?”

Lena clutched at Kara’s arms. “It’s not enough. There are still so many people who need help.”

Kara rested her chin on Lena’s shoulder, tightening her grip on her, knowing that being held like that comforted her. “Lena, you do so much. You give so much of yourself, your time, your money, your company, even. How could you ever think it’s not enough?”

“I just want to fix things. But even I can’t fix everything. I mean, I could do so much more if the board wasn’t fighting me every step of the way... Maybe I should just dissolve the board altogether, then maybe I could make a real difference.”

“Can you even do that?”

“I don’t know. I’m sure my lawyers could figure something out. I should email Gloria right now.” Lena moved as if to sit up, but Kara restrained her gently. 

“Honey, no. Let it go. You’re not going to solve anything at 2:30 in the morning. You can email her after you’ve gotten some good rest.”

Lena stiffened for a moment but then acquiesced. “Ok,” she said, sighing heavily. “Although ‘good’ rest would be stretching it, I think. I’ve got a meeting at 7:30.”

“I already texted Jess and told her you were taking a personal day. She said she was glad and that she’s been worried about you.”

“What? You can’t just—” Lena huffed. “Jess is worried about me?”

“We both are.”

“I wish you wouldn’t worry about me. I’m not worth it.”

“Lena, don’t say that. Of course you’re worth it.”

“No, I’m not. I know that you have all this faith in me, but you shouldn’t. No matter what I do, I will never be able to make up for the damage my family has done. I’m a Luthor. I’m tainted.”

“Hey,” Kara said sternly, turning the light back on. She sat up, pulling Lena with her. “I need you to look at me.” 

Lena turned but kept her gaze averted, so Kara tilted her head up gently, her palm against Lena’s cheek, fingers threaded in her hair. Kara brought their foreheads together, running her thumb along Lena’s cheekbone.

“I don’t let anyone talk about my girlfriend like that. The Lena Luthor I know is good, and kind, and caring. She helps so many people. She’s a hero.”

Lena shook her head, tears blooming in the corners of her eyes.

Kara sighed heavily. She wished she could make Lena see the truth, that she could break through all the brainwashing and manipulation and lies that had so thoroughly warped Lena’s perception of herself. 

She’d tried so many times, desperately, practically begging Lena to understand. Sometimes she felt like it almost worked, that for one, shining moment at least, Lena could see through the fog, and other times it seemed like Lena couldn’t hear her at all, no matter what she said. 

She wasn’t about to stop trying. She’d never ever stop telling Lena how amazing she was.

Kara took Lena by the shoulders, holding her back so they could look at one another. “What did you do while I was gone tonight?” She knew the answer already. It was the same thing she did almost every night Kara was out late with Supergirl duties. 

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Kara brushed a hand along Lena’s cheek. “Are you sure you weren’t trawling the depths of the internet looking for charities to donate large amounts of money to?”

“I wasn’t... not really.” Lena cleared her throat. “I was looking at GoFundMe campaigns.”

“Mhmmm...” Kara took Lena’s hand and began to kiss the tips of her fingers. “And did you find a few to grossly overfund?”

“I did...” 

“Let me guess. You gave several LGBT youth organizations 1000% funding on their campaigns. ”

“Well, not exactly...”

“Not exactly?”

“I funded all of them.”

“You funded all of the LGBT youth campaigns on GoFundMe? That’s so cool! I’m sure those kids are going to be—” 

“No, Kara. I mean funded  _ all _ the campaigns. The entire website.”

“What? You can do that?”

“I called the company, and after being transferred to several different friendly but confused customer service representatives, I was finally connected with someone who was able to help me get things set up so I could pay for all of them.”

“Lena... that is...” She couldn’t help but pull Lena in close and embrace her tightly. Her heart swelled with love and admiration, but it only lasted for a moment before she was overwhelmed with sadness. “It is so wonderful that you’ve done that, but you don’t have to keep atoning for the sins of your family.”

“But don’t you see, Kara? I do. For better or worse, I have inherited the Luthor fortune. Do you know how much money I have? Over a hundred  _ billion _ dollars, Kara. That is absolutely obscene. No one should have that much money. If I lived a thousand lifetimes I wouldn’t be able to spend it all.”  

“You should start your own website. ‘LuthorFundMe.com,” Kara said, laughing at her own cleverness.

“Oh my god, that’s brilliant!” She grabbed Kara’s face and kissed her soundly.

“Really? I was kind of joking...”

“No, it’s perfect. I wouldn’t have to go looking for people in need. They could just come directly to me!” Lena’s face lit up, and she gave Kara a genuine smile for the first time that evening. “I’ll have all different kinds of grant programs. Cities can apply for things like infrastructure improvements, but individuals can too, for emergency funds or medical bills or housing...”

Lena went on, talking a mile a minute, much too fast for Kara to keep up. She was just happy to see light in Lena’s eyes again. Kara picked her hand up and kissed along her knuckles.

“How much do you think it would cost to fund universal healthcare?”

Kara chuckled. “Um... Even  _ you _ aren’t that rich.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.” Lena frowned, looking deflated.

“But... you could turn Luthor Hospital into a  _ network _ of hospitals in underserved areas all over the country...”

Lena gasped. “I could! I really could! Oh! I need to call David!” She reached across Kara to get her phone from the nightstand. 

Kara put a hand on her arm. “Lena. It’s almost 3am. David is asleep. Just like you should be.”

“But the hospitals—”

“Can wait,” she said, leaning back. “The only thing you need to worry about right now is cuddling with your gorgeous Kryptonian girlfriend.” She opened her arms. “Come on.”

Lena sighed heavily, but Kara could detect the hint of a smile at the corners of her lips. She moved into Kara’s embrace, settling in to her, sneaking her hand under Kara’s shirt to press against her skin. 

Kara felt Lena’s breathing slow and steady and she stroked her hair gently, finally able to relax now that Lena was resting peacefully. She listened to her heartbeat, closing her eyes and letting it overwhelm her senses, letting it’s rhythm soften the ache in her chest.

It was a pain that came from knowing that she would never be able to protect Lena from everything. Try as she might to shield her from it, the mean, cruel world still got to her.

She pulled Lena closer, hearing her murmur a soft  _ I love you _ against her neck.

“I love you too. Always,” she whispered back, wishing she could hold her even tighter. 

Kara couldn’t protect Lena from everything, that she had to accept. 

But she could be her home, her safe haven. She could love, support, and cherish her. She could be the founder and president of the Lena Luthor Fan Club. She could stand up for her, and stand against anyone who tried to hurt her. 

Kara finally began to drift off to sleep, knowing that she would do all that and more. Until her last dying breath, she would.

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from the song [Mean Old World](https://youtu.be/VSOYOFQgVMs) by T-Bone Walker. 
> 
> Come talk to me on tumblr: [@drfitzmonster](http://drfitzmonster.tumblr.com)


End file.
